TS Solartech to expand Malaysian plant

Malaysian solar cell manufacturer TS SolarTech has announced plans to expand its 60MW plant to 640MW by 2015.

TS Solartech, a 60% owned subsidiary of investment company Tek Seng, said it had invested RM94 million (US$38.5 million) to build the existing facility in Bukit Minyak Science Park on the mainland of Penang. Tek Seng Group Executive Chairman Loh Kok Beng said TS Solartech had partnered with German company, Schmid in this venture.

According to local newspaper The Star, the factory expansion is expected to cost an additional RM480 million (US$1.54 million).

TS SolarTech expects to generate 50% of its solar business from the export market while the balance is from the Malaysian market.

Loh said the total production capacity for photovoltaic cells in Malaysia is expected to touch 360MW in 2015, recording a compound annual average growth of 88% from the 29MW this year, adding that Malaysia is well placed to raise its global market share to 17% by 2020.

Looking back, 2014 was a year of convalescence for a PV industry still battered and bruised from a period of ferocious competition. End-market demand continued apace, with analysts towards the end of 2014 predicting the year would see between around 45 and 50GW of deployment. That has begun to feed through to the supplier end of the market, with all the main manufacturers announcing capacity expansions in 2015 and further ahead.

Although the past few years have proved extremely testing for PV equipment manufacturers, falling module prices have driven solar end-market demand to previously unseen levels. That demand is now starting to be felt by manufacturers, to the extent that leading companies are starting to talk about serious capacity expansions later this year and into 2015. This means that the next 12 months will be a critical period if companies throughout the supply chain are to take full advantage of the PV industry’s next growth phase.